Category Archives: workplace

A number of students and managers have contacted me recently with regard to the changes coming up in October regarding the Childcare sector.

I have studied the First Aid training requirements and the advice for each sector is below:

Registered Childminder – Paediatric First Aid – 12 hours In line with the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework ( EYFS) the Level 3 Paediatric First Aid (PFA) Course covers all topics required by Ofsted.

Nursery or Pre – School – Paediatric First Aid – 12 hours In line with the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework ( EYFS) the Level 3 Paediatric First Aid (PFA) 12 Hour course covers all topics required by Ofsted.

Foundation Stage Teachers – Paediatric First Aid – 12 hours The EYFS requires that at least one person in a school holds a twelve hour certificate in PFA. The EYFS guidance applies to those who deal with 4, 5 and rising 6 year olds.

School Staff Teaching & Support – Emergency First Aid at Work for Schools Level 2 (EFAWS) – 6 hours In line with the guidance from The Department of Children, Schools and Families, this course is child orientated and suitable for all school staff who support First Aiders.

After School clubs – Emergency First Aid at Work for Schools Level 2 (EFAWS) – 6 hours

Or

Level 3 Paediatric First Aid (PFA) 12 Hour course.

Ofsted will expect the course to be relevant to the age of the children. If under 5’s are present you need the Paediatric First Aid – 12 hours

Nanny, Au Pair, Babysitter – Emergency Paediatric First Aid (EPFA) – 6 hours There is no set minimum that this course should take. Our 6Hr Emergency Paediatric First Aid (EPFA) course meets the needs of the Voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register, which many Nannies are now opting to join.

The general guidance, as I understand it, is if under 5’s are involved then even if the 12 hour course is not a requirement we still recommend it. The guidance from Ofsted regularly highlights the need for the training to be relevant to the age of the child / children being cared for.

1. There is no mandatory list of items to be included in a first-aid container. The decision on what to provide will be influenced by the findings of the first-aid needs assessment. As a guide, where work activities involve low hazards, a minimum stock of first-aid items might be:

a leaflet giving general guidance on first aid (for example, HSE’s leaflet Basic advice on first aid at work);

20 individually wrapped sterile plasters (assorted sizes), appropriate to the type of work (hypoallergenic plasters can be provided if necessary);

Slight change to your recent book if you attended a Emergency First Aid at Work(EFAW) course with me in the last 12 months

AED Data Collection

The Resuscitation Council (UK) no longer supplies or collects the AED event form that has been in use. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains an important priority for the Resuscitation Council (UK) and it has established a national out-of-hospital database with the British Heart Foundation and Association of Ambulance Medical Directors, in partnership with the University of Warwick. This audit also captures the events where a public access AED has been used before the arrival of the ambulance crew via a reusable and easily accessible new online event form. To that end, there is a requirement to reflect this information within the suite of Highfield First Aid books.

The required changes are below.

Page 9

The book states the following:

‘In cases where a defibrillator has been used, regardless of whether shocks were given or not, then the Event Report Form (ERF) requires completing in full and the white copy to be sent to the Resuscitation Council (UK) as soon as possible. The address of which can be found at the bottom of the form.’

This paragraph requires removing and the following inserted:

‘In cases where a public access AED has been used, dependent on local authority policies, there may be a requirement to report the event using a prescribed audit reporting chain’

Slight change to your recent book if you attended a First Aid at Work (FAW) course with me in the last 12 months

AED Data Collection

The Resuscitation Council (UK) no longer supplies or collects the AED event form that has been in use. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains an important priority for the Resuscitation Council (UK) and it has established a national out-of-hospital database with the British Heart Foundation and Association of Ambulance Medical Directors, in partnership with the University of Warwick. This audit also captures the events where a public access AED has been used before the arrival of the ambulance crew via a reusable and easily accessible new online event form. To that end, there is a requirement to reflect this information within the suite of Highfield First Aid books.

The required changes are below.

Page 7

The book states the following:

‘In cases where a defibrillator has been used, regardless of whether shocks were given or not, then the Event Report Form (ERF) requires completing in full and the white copy to be sent to the Resuscitation Council (UK) as soon as possible. The address of which can be found at the bottom of the form.’

This paragraph requires removing and the following inserted:

‘In cases where a public access AED has been used, dependent on local authority policies, there may be a requirement to report the event using a prescribed audit reporting chain’

Slight change to your recent book if you attended a Paediatric First Aid course with me in the last 12 months

AED Data Collection

The Resuscitation Council (UK) no longer supplies or collects the AED event form that has been in use. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains an important priority for the Resuscitation Council (UK) and it has established a national out-of-hospital database with the British Heart Foundation and Association of Ambulance Medical Directors, in partnership with the University of Warwick. This audit also captures the events where a public access AED has been used before the arrival of the ambulance crew via a reusable and easily accessible new online event form. To that end, there is a requirement to reflect this information within the suite of Highfield First Aid books.

The required changes are below.

Page 7

The book states the following:

‘In cases where a defibrillator has been used, regardless of whether shocks were given or not, then the Event Report Form (ERF) requires completing in full and the white copy to be sent to the Resuscitation Council (UK) as soon as possible. The address of which can be found at the bottom of the form.’

This paragraph requires removing and the following inserted:

‘In cases where a public access AED has been used, dependent on local authority policies, there may be a requirement to report the event using a prescribed audit reporting chain’

The disorder affects the red blood cells which contain a special protein called haemoglobin (Hb for short). The function of haemoglobin is to carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body.

People with Sickle Cell Anaemia have Sickle haemoglobin (HbS) which is different from the normal haemoglobin (HbA). When sickle haemoglobin gives up its oxygen to the tissues, it sticks together to form long rods inside the red blood cells making these cells rigid and sickle-shaped. Normal red blood cells can bend and flex easily.

Blocked blood vessels

Because of their shape, sickled red blood cells can’t squeeze through small blood vessels as easily as the almost donut-shaped normal cells. This can lead to these small blood vessels getting blocked which then stops the oxygen from getting through to where it is needed. This in turn can lead to severe pain and damage to organs.

Who Gets SCDs?

The different kinds of SCD and the different traits are found mainly in people whose families come from Africa, the Caribbean, the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia.* In Britain SCD is most common in people of African and Caribbean descent (at least 1 in 10-40 have sickle cell trait and 1 in 60-200 have SCD). It is estimated there are over 6,000 adults and children with SCD in Britain at present. There are other inherited conditions that mainly affect other groups, e.g. Cystic Fibrosis in Europeans, and Tay-Sachs disease in Jewish people.

Thalassaemia is a group of inherited blood disorders where the part of the blood known as haemoglobin is abnormal.

The abnormality means that the affected red blood cells are unable to function normally, which leads to anaemia (a red blood cell deficiency).

Red blood cells

Red blood cells are very important because they contain a substance called haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Haemoglobin is produced in the bone marrow (a spongy material found inside larger bones) using the iron that the body gets from food.

In thalassaemia, haemoglobin production is abnormal, leading to anaemia and a reduced oxygen-carrying capacity. If your body doesn’t receive enough oxygen, you’ll feel tired, breathless, drowsy and faint.

If left untreated, the most serious types of thalassaemia can cause other complications, including organ damage, restricted growth, liver disease, heart failure and death.

Who is affected by thalassaemia?

In England, beta thalassaemia major (BTM) is thought to affect around 1,000 people, with an estimated 214,000 carriers.

It most commonly affects people of Cypriot, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese origin.

In the UK, 8 out of 10 babies born with BTM have parents of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi ancestry.

Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia: A guide to school policy [pdf]

A new law (Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014) places a duty on schools and academies to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Research has shown that schools struggle to support young people with sickle cell, but the Sickle Cell Society can offer help and advice. Working with university researchers our advisors have overseen the development of a Guide to School Policy for Sickle Cell.

“Teachers are faced with many different possible medical conditions and it is not reasonable to expect them to remember details of all of them. At the same time young people with sickle cell dislike initiatives that draw attention to them as different from their peers,” said Professor Simon Dyson of De Montfort University, who led the team of researchers. “What was needed was a policy that supported the student with sickle cell but which operated in the background without overloading teachers with information”.

The Guide to School Policy for young people with sickle cell is based on examples of good practice and contains a template for drawing up an individual health care plan.